Digital Commons Network^™

Searching For A Self-Reflexive Theology: Ways Forward For Systematic Theology In Relation To (Non) Religious Thought In Contemporary Western Culture, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article aims to draw attention, first, to the need to explore the inner plurality of theological discourse, as such plural discourses serve to promote a certain dynamism and fullness within theology as a field, especially in relation to religious studies today. Second, such a potential fullness is reflected in the modern struggle to characterize the relationship between faith and reason. Comprehending the misunderstandings, often construed as an impasse between faith and reason, could foster new relations between scientific methods and theological imaginations. Third, understanding these tensions from a systematic theological perspective also entails a more precise analysis of the …

The Profanation Of Revelation: On Language And Immanence In The Work Of Giorgio Agamben, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay seeks to articulate the many implications which Giorgio Agamben’s work holds for theology. It aims therefore to examine his (re)conceptualizations of language, in light of particular historical glosses on the ‘name of God’ and the nature of the ‘mystical’, as well as to highlight the political task of profanation, one of his most central concepts, in relation to the logos said to embody humanity’s ‘religious’ quest to find its Voice. As such, we see how he challenges those standard (ontotheological) notions of transcendence which have been consistently aligned with various historical forms of sovereignty. In addition, I intend …

The Quakerization Of Everything, Matthew Hedstrom

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

On Buddhism, Divination And The Worldly Arts: Textual Evidence From The Theravāda Tradition, David Fiordalis

Faculty Publications

This essay attends to the sticky web of indigenous terminology concerning divination and other so-called “mundane” or “worldly” arts, focusing primarily upon Buddhist canonical texts preserved in Pāli, augmented by references to commentarial and exegetical literature. It asks: How have some Buddhists, as evinced in this canonical and exegetical literature, understood the broader category of “worldly arts,” which includes techniques we call divinatory? Are Buddhists discouraged from engaging with such practices, as has been commonly asserted? If so, then for whom, specifically, are such words of discouragement primarily meant? And why, specifically, are such practices discouraged? Are the penalties for …

Full Issue

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Book Of Mormon Minimalists And The Nhm Inscriptions: A Response To Dan Vogel, Neal Rappleye, Stephen O. Smoot

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Biblical “minimalists” have sought to undermine or deemphasize the significance of the Tel Dan inscription attesting to the existence of the “house of David.” Similarly, those who might be called Book of Mormon “minimalists” such as Dan Vogel have marshaled evidence to try to make the nhm inscriptions from south Arabia, corresponding to the Book of Mormon Nahom, seem as irrelevant as possible. We show why the nhm inscriptions still stand as impressive evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon

The Sibling Scandals Of The Resurrection, Daniel C. Peterson

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

I’ve recently picked Stephen T. Davis’s Risen Indeed: Making Sense of the Resurrection up again.1 It’s an impressive book that had a pivotal effect on my thinking when it first appeared. Davis, the Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy at Claremont McKenna College in California, argues that “Christians are within their intellectual rights in believing that Jesus was raised from the dead.”2 “The thesis of the book,” he explains, “is that the two central Christian resurrection claims — namely, that Jesus was bodily raised from the dead and that we will all be raised from the dead — are defensible …

The Book With The Unintentionally Self-Referential Title, Brant A. Gardner

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Earl M. Wunderli has written a book that works through the reasons he fell out of belief in the Book of Mormon. These are combined with issues that he has added to his original reasons. His presentation is clearly intended to suggest that what he found compelling will also be compelling to other readers. Should it? This review looks at how his arguments are constructed: his methodology, the logic of the analysis, and the way he uses his sources. Although he argues that it is the Book of Mormon that is the imperfect book, his construction of the arguments makes …

“What Thank They The Jews”? (2 Nephi 29:4): A Note On The Name “Judah” And Antisemitism, Matthew L. Bowen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The Hebrew Bible explains the meaning of the personal and tribal name “Judah”—from which the term “Jews” derives—in terms of “praising” or “thanking” (*ydy/ ydh). In other words, the “Jews” are those who are to be “praised out of a feeling of gratitude.” This has important implications for the Lord’s words to Nephi regarding Gentile ingratitude and antisemitism: “And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them?” (2 Nephi 29:4). Gentile Christian antisemitism, like the concomitant doctrine of supersessionism, can be traced (in part) to widespread misunderstanding and misapplication of Paul’s words regarding Jews and …

Is Decrypting The Genetic Legacy Of America’S Indigenous Populations Key To The Historicity Of The Book Of Mormon?, Ugo A. Perego, Jayne E. Ekins

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The Book of Mormon claims to be an ancient record containing a summary of a now-disappeared civilization that once lived in the American continent but originated in the Middle East. DNA studies focusing on the ancient migration of world populations support a North-East Asian origin of modern Native American populations arriving through the now-submerged land bridge that once connected Siberia to Alaska during the last Ice Age, approximately 15,000 years ago. The apparent discrepancy between the Book of Mormon narrative and the published genetic data must be addressed in lieu of generally accepted population genetic principles that are efficient in …

The Cleansing Of The Temple In The Fourth Gospel As A Call To Action For Social Justice, Douglas Thompson Goodwin

MA in Religion Theses

Historically, there has been the attitude that the writer of the Fourth Gospel, due primarily to his emphasis on the high Christology of Jesus, is uninterested, or even unconcerned, with the issues of social justice. The contention of this study is to show that this is just the opposite. By placing the Temple cleansing episode at the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, instead of the end as the Synoptics do, the author of the Fourth Gospel uses Jesus' Temple episode as the vehicle for showing the importance of caring for those in society who have no voice and no future. …

Reference, Mimesis, And Application: An Examination Of Gadamer's Rehabilitation Of Allegory, Evan Weinzierl

MA in Religion Theses

The goal of this thesis is, first and foremost, the presentation of the stance of allegorical interpretation and its potential revaluation in a postmodern context (as argued for by Hans Georg Gadamer), giving special consideration to select pre-critical voices and allegorical methodologies that are becoming relevant to this discussion concerning personal, revelatory Truth or Truths. This goal is enriched by the incorporation of pertinent, contemporary (postmodern) perspectives in literary theory that concern the relationship between the world of a text, the world of the individual or society in which that text is interpreted, and any possible or useful allegorical link …

Post-Secular Religion On Campus: Conversing With Jacobsen And Jacobsen, L. Deane Lagerquist

Intersections

No abstract provided.

Historical Movements And The Theology Behind The Pluralism Project At Harvard University, Scott Macleod

Masters Theses

The focus of this paper is to address religious pluralism as a belief along with examining multiple factors that have been a catalyst for the Pluralism Project at Harvard University to become part of American culture. The theology behind and ideology of the Pluralism Project will be examined along with the writings of Diana Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project. Outwardly, The Pluralism Project and the works of Eck give the impression of an impartial attempt to educate people on the growing religious diversity found within America. However, it will be shown that the Pluralism Project and the efforts of …

Review Of The Oxford Handbook Of Quaker Studies, Ann Riggs

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Advent Devotional Guide 2014, Belmont University

Advent Devotional Guides

No abstract provided.

Creatio Ex Amore Dei: Creation Out Of Nothing And God’S Relational Nature, Samuel J. Youngs

The Asbury Journal

The opinion of many feminist thinkers and process theologians has been that Christianity needs to shed its allegiance to a God conceived in terms of omnipotent sovereignty. As an alternative, many of them have envisioned God in more relational categories, focusing on the metaphysically “limited” nature of God, with the first step along this path often being a refutation of the traditional doctrine of creatio ex nihilo. This essay summarizes such critiques before proceeding to argue that a robust understanding of creatio ex nihilo, viewed through the lens of kenosis, can actually speak more effectively to God’s relational nature and …

[Book Review Of] Freikirchen Und Juden Im „Dritten Reich“: Instrumentalisierte Heilsgeschichte, Antisemitische Vorurteile Und Verdrängte Schuld, Edited By Daniel Heinz, Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Fifth Principle Of The Gospel, Noel B. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

With the 2004 publication of Preach My Gospel as the new handbook for LDS missionaries, the official explanation of Christ’s gospel incorporated a previously unrecognized fifth principle—enduring to the end. This article will review ways in which this principle surfaced occasionally in early Mormon missionary work and writings. It will also demonstrate that the principle is explicitly and consistently emphasized in Book of Mormon presentations of the gospel in passages that are now generally recognized as authoritative foundations for LDS gospel teaching.

A Strategy To Train Local Church Elders For Effective Assimilation And Nurture Of New Converts, Enock Chifamba

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In most multi-church districts the pastoral burden rests with the local church elders. However, these elders receive little or no training concerning the important pastoral duty of assimilation and nurture of new converts into a local church fellowship. Thus, new converts often feel isolated and neglected and some either backslide or remain inactive in their new-found faith. In the East Zimbabwe Conference 18,349 new members were added in 2010 bringing its membership to 247,935 with only 56 district pastors. The conference needs a cost effective strategy to nurture new members.

Method

The role of elders as pastoral care givers …

Under The Cape Of Religion: Herder And Shamanism In The Eighteenth Century, Vera Jakoby

Religion in the Age of Enlightenment

I f one were to undertake a genealogy of how Western Europe established a concept of otherness, the eighteenth century would be one of the most rewarding "information hubs" for such a study. Ethnography, ethnology, anthropology, and other new knowledge fields exploring global populations and environs were founded in this century, analyzing and systematizing the waves of travel reports that had been flooding Europe since the time of Columbus and Vasco da Gama. Stories and images of paradisiacal and terrorizing spaces, peculiar humans, and wondrous animals and plants had taken root in the Western imagination beginning in the sixteenth century. …

On A Dawning Era For The Book Of Mormon, Joseph M. Spencer

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Revelation, Reason, And Faith: Essays In Honor Of Truman G. Madsen, Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, Stephen D. Ricks

Maxwell Institute Publications

The distinguished career of Truman G. Madsen has earned him wide respect in and outside of LDS circles as an outstanding teacher, scholar, researcher, speaker, university administrator, church leader, and religious ambassador. With the publication of Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, the Institute pays tribute to this remarkable man whose many accomplishments include helping to advance Book of Mormon scholarship and related interests of the Institute.

Edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and Stephen D. Ricks (each of whom also author a chapter), the 800-plus-page volume contains contributions by 31 scholars, …

A Nickname And A Slam Dunk: Notes On The Book Of Mormon Names Zeezrom And Jershon, Stephen D. Ricks

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Nicknames and Dysphemisms in the Bible and Ancient Mediterranean Even in the Bible, nicknames and dysphemisms— expressions whose connotations may be offensive to the hearer—are not rare and were equally so in other parts of the ancient and early medieval world. In 1 Samuel the ungenerous husband of Abigail rudely refused hospitality to the men of David, greatly angering them. David and his men were so incensed at his offense against the laws of hospitality that they intended to punish him for his boorish behavior before they were dissuaded from their plan by Abigail (1 Samuel 25:1-35). Shortly thereafter the …

Whole Patient Care: Awareness And Attitude Of Babcock University Teaching Hospital Health Caregivers, Aja T. Victoria

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Statement of the Problem.

This study seeks to understand Babcock University Teaching Hospital (BUTH) health caregivers’ awareness of and attitude to whole patient care for the purpose of developing whole patient care at BUTH. I have been tasked to help develop and establish whole person care at BUTH. Babcock University Teaching Hospital is still at a developmental stage. It has not established an institutional definition of whole patient care, nor has it established an institutional office for the promotion and administration of whole patient care or hired a full-time chaplain.

Method.

This study adopted a quantitative (survey) and qualitative (Focus …

Religion, Heritage, And Power： Everyday Life In Contemporary China, Asan Xue

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Based on an ethnographic study of the religious life of ordinary people in the town of Dongpu, this research explores the relationships between: religion and state power; Chinese ritual (li, 礼/禮) tradition and Christian culture; and religion and intangible cultural heritage in contemporary China.

This research found that both the practitioners of Chinese rituals and the Christian community deploy tactics to resist and negotiate with the hegemonic official culture through spatial and religious practices in their everyday life. Chinese ritual practices dedicated to deities and ancestors are defined as idol worship in the doctrine of Christianity and denigrated …

Wonder-Worlds Of Words, Sandra A. Yocum

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

An essay on the impact of the works in the Imprints and Impressions: Milestones in Human Progress, an exhibition of rare books from the collection of Stuart Rose. Exhibition was held Sept. 29-Nov. 9, 2014, at the University of Dayton.

Dando Um Jeito: An Integrated Theological, Historical, Cultural And Strategic Study Of Missio Dei To, In And Through Brazil, Joao Mordomo

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since it’s descobrimento on April 22nd, 1500, Brazil proved to be resistant to Protestant and Evangelical Christianity until the 20th century. However, by the end of the century, Brazil had, in many missiologists’ minds, transitioned from being a missionary field to a missionary force. There is one Brazilian trait in particular that serves well to describe both God as He has orchestrated the evangelization of Brazil, and Brazilians as they increasingly have fulfilled their role in God’s global mission to, in and through Brazil. This trait is summarized in the expression dar um jeito (pronounced “darh oon jhei’-to”). While a …

Selected Bibliography: Bonaventure And Thomas Aquinas On The Blessed Virgin Mary (1995-2013), Richard E. Lenar, Jason Paul Bourgeois

Marian Library Faculty Publications

A bibliography.

Pentecostal Feeling In Conversation With William James And Rudolf Otto: A Preliminary Exploration, Ekaputra Tupamahu

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

I met Dr. Wonsuk Ma for the first time during the orientation of incoming students at Asia Pacific Theological Seminary in the Philippines in 2003. I have come to know him since then as a leading Asian Pentecostal thinker who has a deep conviction that the task of constructing theology has to be undertaken from within a real human context.This essay is rooted in a similar conviction. I will attempt to approach Pentecostal spirituality from a standpoint of human religious experience.